Without Breath
by Dante Apollyon5680
Summary: Maximum Chase was cheated on by his girlfriend and goes to the Gods to die. When the Gods don't allow him to die, Max is instead offered something that drastically changes his life. Percy Jackson doesn't exist in this book, but most of Rick Riordan's other characters do. Warning: Adult Content, Strong Language, Graphic Scenes/content.
1. Chapter 1

_THE CHRONICLES OF CHASE:_

 _BOOK 1_

 _WITHOUT BREATH_

 _WRITTEN BY:_

 _ASHEN UNKNOWN_

* * *

 _I_

 _WISHFULL THINKING_

As I was walking around the camp I lived at, I heard a conch horn sound, signaling that it was finally dinner time. As I walked over to the dinning pavilion, I could hear people start to whisper as I passed them by. "I can't believe he's still here. I was sure that wolf would have driven him away." Someone whispered. "Wait, I remember a wolf going into his cabin, but never leaving. Do you think he killed it? He probably even ate it!" Another person said as they began to laugh. I just took a seat at my table. I could hear other people take seats at their tables and I could feel their eyes on me.

After a few minutes of whispers, a woman stood in front of the pavilion and began to speak. "Now, now children. I need you all to calm down so I can explain tomorrow's schedule with you." As the woman began to speak about the schedule she had made for us, our food began to appear and sprites could be seen floating around, serving people different beverages. I just ordered a water and plain white rice. I could see campers start to get up and walk over to a fire where they proceeded to dump a portion of their food into the blazer. When it was my turn, I dumped all of my food into the blazer and thought of only a few words. _Father... I can't take it anymore. I'm going to Uncle Hades. He's the only one who would be willing to make me forget about what happened here. The only one who could make this memory leave me, even if it would cost me my sanity._

I could feel the air become colder as I had a sense that my dad heard my prayer. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to stop me. After all, the gods were forbidden from interceding in their children's lives. I knew that my father could feel my depression. Especially after my mom and step dad had died almost a year ago from a cyclops attacking the apartment where they lived. Even before that day, I had wanted to die, but no one seemed to care. All of the friends I once had at this camp had betrayed me when my ex-girlfriend started to spread rumors about my cheating on her with random girls, even to the point where she made them believe that I had gotten all of my 'romantic interests' pregnant. No one even remembered that loyalty was my fatal flaw.

I couldn't hurt anyone I cared about even if I was hypnotized, which, by the way actually happened before. No one wanted to hear my side of the story when I found my ex-girlfriend and my cousin making out, or even the time when I found them having sex in my bed. No one cared... I guess it was to be obvious. Because all of the wars were over, I held no purpose anymore. I was a veteran of three great wars. Every year I've been at this camp, I've had to find some way of saving the entire western civilization. When my father and the gods decided to grant me a wish, I only wished for a few things. My first wish had been for Hades and Hestia to get their thrones back. My second wish had been for the peaceful Titans and gods to be released from their prisons. My last wish had been for the gods to pay more attention to their children.

I was, in every sense, an empty shell. Nothing held any meaning anymore. If I had to stay here any longer, I might kill myself. I didn't exactly want to die, but I didn't want to have a constant reminder of what my life had become. Everywhere I looked around this camp, everything reminded me of the girl who had shattered my world in moments.

Around 10:30 PM, I snuck out of my cabin and made my way a few miles to a large building. As I looked up at the enormous building, I could feel my heart clench. I walked up to the receptionist and said, " I need to speak with the Olympians." The man looked up at me from his phone and said, "Sorry. We don't house anyone by that name." I just stared at him, and said, "What would Poseidon say if he found out you were keeping him from seeing me?" I asked him. I could see his face pale as he handed me a key card, saying, "Just scan the card and press the 600th floor button." I grabbed the card and slowly made my way to the elevator. I swiped the card on the key pad inside, then pressed a button that appeared. _Here I come._ I thought to myself. I could sense the sky, sea, and earth become restless as I made my way out of the elevator and towards a large building housing 13 large thrones with a single person adorning each throne. All of them were in a heated debate with one another. As I stepped through the doors, everyone stopped abruptly and looked at me.

"MAX!" I heard my father exclaim as he shrunk down to a normal human size and began to embrace me in a hug. "Max. We've been informed about why you've come here." Zeus said softly. _To think that after all of these years,_ _my uncle finally decides to be nice to me. It's kind of nice... I guess._ I thought to myself. "We can't have a strong warrior such as yourself leave! I won't allow it!" Ares yelled. "Who else can match my strength on the battlefield?!" He continued. Everyone began to exclaim all of their reasons that I should stay alive... about why I shouldn't just die.

A little to my surprise, Hades walked up to me and said, "Max. I know that nothing we're trying to say to you is helping. No matter how much we want you to live, I can feel how close you are to death." After he said this, the entire room went silent. I just continued to stare at the floor, not wanting to look anyone in the eyes. _Ever since I became known of the Gods, monsters, and other crap that shouldn't exist by normal terms, I've always been thrust into some mission to save someone. Now that there's finally peace, I have no other worth. Fighting, love, my family, and my friends were the only things I knew. To have those things taken away in a span of a couple years... I don't have anything else._ I thought to myself.

"Max. If we were able to give you a purpose... Something to do for the rest of your life... would you be able to stay alive?" Someone said. I looked over to my left and could see Artemis staring at me. Even everyone around the room stared at her. "Milady... why... Why would you try to help me? I'm one of those _males_ you preach to your hunters to hate with every fiber of their being? So...Why?" I asked her. Her silver eyes looked at me with pity. _Of coarse... She's just pitying me._ I thought. "Max... If we do offer you something in hopes of keeping you alive... Will you accept?" She repeated.

I sighed, then nodded. "Then swear on the Styx. Swear that you won't kill yourself while you uphold any duties you will bear." Artemis said, as if trying to force this on me. I looked at everyone just to find that all of them were looking at me with hope in their eyes, as if my doing this would take the weight of the world off their backs, which, I've held before. _I really hope I don't have to do that again. That sucked._ I thought to myself. "I, Max Chase, swear on the River Styx to not kill myself during whatever tasks I'm given by the Olympians." I sighed deeply, then proceeded to say, "There, happy? Now what do you want from me?" I looked at Artemis while saying this. I didn't mean to make it seem as though I was angry with her, but it kind of came out that way. Within moments, she was glaring at me, making me turn to Zeus. "What are my tasks since I believe Artemis is a little pissed off at me at the moment." I said. Zeus seemed to be deep in thought as he looked in between each of the gods. _Great, my fate is decided amongst each of these people. Fuck my life._ I thought. "NO! I WILL NOT HAVE A MALE IN MY HUNT! HE WAS JUST RUDE TO ME AND YOU EXPECT ME TO LET HIM TRAVEL WITH US!" I looked to see Artemis furious.

I looked at Zeus, then said. "Are you sure there isn't something else I could do? I may want to die, but if I even go near her hunters, I'm pretty sure Tartarus would have nothing on them." I could hear multiple coughs. "Is the great Max Chase scared of a couple girls? You've defeated armies before. You've taken on multiple Titans AND Giants by yourself and you're acting scared because of a few hunters?" Artemis asked with an evil smile adorning her lips. "To be fair, those hunters are pretty much immortal, hate men and would either kill me on sight or torture me so much that I'd have an even stronger desire to die. Yeah, I'd say being scared of them is obviously something I shouldn't be." I said with melancholy.

She seemed to lose her desire to torment me as I said this, but Zeus didn't seem to care as he said, "All in favor of appointing Max as the Guardian of the Hunt?" Only a few people didn't raise their hands until Artemis rose her hand. "So, I don't get a say in this? I just have to go along with whatever you say just like old times, huh?" I asked the council, only to receive a "Yep." from a couple of them. "With that, I believe our meeting is adjourned." Zeus said, then flashed out. Other council members began to flash out leaving only a few left.

Poseidon walked up to me, embracing me in a hug as he said, "I'm glade you're alive Max. I would miss having my favorite son around if you died." I forced a little chuckle. "Yeah, Dad. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm sorry to have caused you to worry." I said. After a few moments, he let go and flashed away too. Next, Apollo walked up. "Hey Max. Look, I'm sorry about everything that's happened to you. I'm also sorry that you have to be around girls from now on. I know how much you'd rather be with Uncle Hades, but maybe this will be good for you?" He said with a little bit of hopefulness in his voice. "I doubt it, but thanks man." I said before he gave me a small smile and left.

Everyone else who had stayed had been speaking with Artemis, who when they all had left, walked up to me. "Let's go." She said with a stern voice. "What other choice do I have?" I mumbled as she grabbed my shoulder and teleported us in a campsite where a bunch of girls wearing silver camouflage attire with a bow, quiver, and daggers strapped to their sides and back were walking around, minding their own business. Within a split second, I could feel an arrow penetrate my shoulder. "Yeah, I think I was right." I looked at Artemis, then continued. "You're hunters obviously tried to kill me on sight. I think I could be physic." She just looked at her hunters who had their bows pointed at me, and said, "Girls, Zeus has ordered Max here to accompany us until, well, until her dies. He's to be our new "Guardian" and will follow any orders given to him." After she finished that, a girl with raven black hair ran up, pushing through the crowd and punched me in the face, making me fly into a tree about a few yards away.

"HOW COULD YOU! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED HER! YOU GO AND CHEAT ON HER WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER GIRLS! YOU EVEN HAD THE GAWL TO GET ALL OF THOSE GIRLS PREGNANT TOO!" The girl screamed at me. As I looked up, I could see the girl literally sparking with electricity. She had slightly tanned skin, and electric blue eyes. She was my cousin, Jodie. A daughter of Zeus. I'd known her since I had entered that camp over 11 years ago. We'd been pretty great friends, even when she left to join the hunt. It was obvious she would take my ex-girlfriend's side on this. She and my ex-girlfriend had known each other before I came to camp. They had a bond that couldn't be broken.

That was something I never had with anyone. I may have thought I had that with my "friends" or even my "girlfriend", but I didn't. They all abandoned me when I needed them most. As Jodie continued to punch me, I just continued to lie there, not moving. Not even phased. It wasn't until Artemis told her to stop, did she finally stop. By then, I could feel myself bleeding all along my body. Of course, she had to throw in one more punch before she left, screaming that all men were the same. Everyone left as I just sat there, against a broken tree.

After a few hours, Artemis came and said as she glared at me, "You can go eat now. You can have any of the left overs, if there are any." She then stormed away after I didn't even bother to look at or give her a reply. For the next few hours, I sat looking up at the stars, reminiscing about the past. I could remember all of the times I would lie underneath the stars, holding my ex-girlfriend's hand as we would just talk about the future. We had spent almost 4 years together and during that time, I thought my life was perfect. Everything was pretty much perfect when she and I were together. We'd share laughs together. She would scold me for being an idiot. There was even a time when she would even kiss me before I had to go into battle.

I could feel tears slide down my eyes at that thought. My tears even continued to flow as I remembered all of the people that had died just so a battle could be won. I could remember all of them as if it was yesterday when I had seen them die right before my eyes. That entire night as well as part of the morning I just continued to cry softly at those memories that I wished I could forget...

When the sun came up, I heard someone walk towards me. "Max! Get ready to complete your assignments! You're going to be making breakfast for the entire hunt, cleaning all of the weapons, and making sure everyone's laundry is cleaned as well as neatly folded. Understood?" Artemis yelled at me like a drill sergeant. I stood up, and just bowed in acknowledgment. She just turned and stormed away. I went into a large tent where the entire hunt was waiting for me. "FINALLY! NOW WE CAN EAT! I've been waiting here starving!" One hunter exclaimed. "What would you all like to eat? I'll make anything you wish." I said in monotone. Some of them seemed taken aback by how I handled the situation, but then shrugged as if it didn't matter. Everyone began exclaiming what food they wanted. When everyone had finished screaming their orders, I just turned and began to leave the tent. I stopped before exiting, snapped my fingers, and within an instant, all of their food was presented to them. As I left the tent, I could hear sounds of the girls enjoying their food.

For the next couple hours, I went around to all of the girls tents, picked up their laundry, cleaned their laundry, then brought it back just as it was time for them to eat lunch. Lunch began the same way as Breakfast, except for the part where they were more willing to order much more food for themselves. Even Artemis began asking for food instead of eating her ambrosia like she did during Breakfast. I then left the tent, summoned their food, and went to work on the rest of my chores.

By dinner time, I had finished cleaning as well as sharpening all of their weapons. For the next few years, everyday went by the same way, except for moving camps so often, or the addition of patrolling the camp to ensure the Hunt's safety. My only interactions with the Hunt either included my making their meals, them screaming at me for being near them, or when they'd laugh at me for getting caught in their pranks, which almost always ended in my being attacked by the wildlife in the area. I would never say anything about their torment because everyday, I became more and more depressed. On several occasions, I had tried to hang myself, cut myself, or even tried to let the wildlife continue attacking at me in an attempt to just die. No matter what I did, it never worked. The wildlife would become bored and would leave. The rope I would try to hang myself from would just break, and the knives I would use were never strong enough to cut deep enough to cause myself to bleed out.

It wasn't until my fifth year in the hunt that something happened. On one of the Hunt's attempts to torment me, their prank had gone wrong and soon enough, the entire camp was being attacked by a chimera as well as a bunch of hell hounds. Artemis was at a meeting with the council, which left me alone with the hunt and since the hunt was only able to take out a few hell hounds before they became overwhelmed, I had to finish what they started. I snapped my fingers and soon enough, the monsters had all disintegrated into gold dust. The Hunt glared at me. Some of the younger girls were crying profusely at what had just transpired, others had blank expressions on their faces as they stared into nothingness. I took this as time to continue on with my chores. Later that night, when I had finished getting the Hunt their dinner, Artemis stormed after me as she shoved me to the ground and began punching me. She then began to yell at me, "WHY WOULD YOU PUT MY HUNT IN DANGER YOU PATHETIC _BOY_!" I didn't do or say anything, but one of the younger girls had come to my rescue.

"Lady Artemis! It wasn't him! Jodie and some of the other girls had tried to prank him again, but it got out of hand. Please! Stop hurting him! He's the one who saved us!" The little girl exclaimed. Artemis stopped punching me, and looked at the little girl. She had blonde hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. She appeared to be, at least, 7 years old. "Haley... Are you sure? You don't need to lie for a stupid _boy._ " Artemis said as she turned to glare at me as if I had made the little girl come to my aid. "I'm not, Lady Artemis!" Haley exclaimed.

Artemis got off of me, then walked away. I got up, and bowed slightly to the little girl, then left to the outskirts of the camp where I was able to be alone. The next day was the 1st of December. I had seen the snow fall early that morning, so now that everyone was up, there was almost a foot of snow covering the ground as more and more snow began to fall. I could see people struggling to walk through the snow as they made their way to the Mess Tent for breakfast. Finally when everyone was inside, I began taking their orders. When their food was summoned, I walked away and began doing my daily chores. Since I didn't have any other clothes to wear, I was stuck with my old black t-shirt, dark grey cargo pants, and my black boots. My cuts had become more numerous as well as more prominent over the years because now both of my arms had cuts adorning them all the way up and down the arm. The newer cuts still had droplets of blood on them because I had cut myself just hours before.

When it was Lunch time, my routine was disrupted. Haley came up to me as I began to leave the Mess Tent and asked if I would eat with her. I looked at her, then at the other hunters, then tried to shake my head no, but she started to cry. I grabbed her chin, then nodded at her, making her smile. As she sat down, she gestured towards an empty seat next to her. I then proceeded to take my seat and watched as they all began to eat. I had given up on my surprise of still being alive after going 3 years without food, that I had become accustomed to not eating. "Aren't you going to eat?" Haley asked me as she stopped eating. I shook my head no, but was surprised when she pushed her food away saying, "Then I won't eat either." She crossed her arms, making my eyes widen. I didn't want her to not eat because of me. That was stupid! Especially since it was literally -30 degrees outside. I summoned a bowl of cereal before myself and gestured for her to continue eating.

She didn't start eating until I took a bite of my cereal. After I had swallowed my cereal, I immediately felt sick. I got up from my chair, making everyone jump, and ran out of the tent holding my mouth. As I got near the outskirts of the camp, I started vomiting profusely. When I looked down, All I could see was a large red puddle covering the snow. "Max? Max? Where are you?" I heard Artemis and Haley call out for me. I turned around to see the two looking at me, then at the puddle of blood behind me. "MAX!" Haley exclaimed as she ran up to me. When she grabbed my hand, she started pulling me back towards the camp. "Lady Artemis! Max is hurt! We need to help him!" I suddenly felt dizzy as I began to wobble as I was pulled towards the Medical tent by Haley, when I collapsed on the ground.

The last thing I heard before I passed out was Haley calling out my name. "MAX!"


	2. Chapter 2

_II_

 _FORCED TO SLEEP_

When I woke up, my first thought was, _Artemis is going to kill me._ I tried to open my eyes, but they failed to function correctly, so I just started to listen into what the people in the room were talking about. "How is he?" I heard a woman say. _Was that Hera? Why would she be here? Who's she checking up on?_ "To be honest, I don't think he's eaten anything for almost half a decade. Combined with the brain scans I did on him, it doesn't look like he's slept at all either." I could here Apollo pause before continuing. "What did you do to him, Artemis?" _So Artemis is here to? What the fuck!_ I thought before someone said something that almost made me wet myself.

"Well if Max is awake, why not he just tell us what happened!" Artemis exclaimed. _You know full well what happened! YOU sent your little girl scouts out everyday to attack me! Everyday I tried to be nice to everyone, but since the very FIRST DAY, not only did the entire Hunt hate me, but Jodie HATED ME TOO! SHE WAS THE ONLY FRIEND I THOUGHT I HAD LEFT! When she attacked me that day, I knew that I was all alone! It's not like you cared at all, anyway. You were the first one to jump the gun when your camp was attacked! AND the fact that you instantly blamed it on ME! WHY IN OUR UNCLE'S NAME WOULD I EVER ATTACK ANY OF YOU! Didn't you know...that I didn't care about anything anymore... I told you that they would start attacking me when I got there. I told all of you they..._ I stopped thinking. I couldn't continue. I could feel the tension in the room build as I went on my rant.

There wasn't any reason for me to continue. I knew that no matter what I would say, I was little more than just a male to Artemis. My word was nothing to her. "Max..." Artemis tried to say, but was cut off. "Artemis! Don't you know how Poseidon would react to this if he found out about your Hunt's interaction with his only son?!" Apollo exclaimed before he continued his rant. "Poseidon would..." He tried to continue, but thunder boomed in the distance. "Children, you need to stop. Zeus is calling a meeting." Hera said, before briefly pausing. Then continuing to say, "Artemis. You'd better hope that Poseidon hasn't demanded to know where Max is, otherwise I'd fear for his wrath on your Hunt." I could then see a couple of flashes, before Artemis began to speak. "Max... I'm sorry. I didn't know how they were treating you. I always assumed... I thought that they would have started to grow accustomed to having you around, but it seems like they only grew accustomed to having someone they could count on for doing their chores as well as being their never ending prank."

I could see a faint flash before I was left alone with just my thoughts. _I hate this! At least with the Hunt, I had something to do every moment of the day!_ I screamed in my head. _Come on! LET ME OPEN MY EYES!_ I continued. After numerous failed attempts, I was finally able to open my eyes, just to be made to squint them because of how bright it was where I was lying. "AH! It's to BRIGHT!" I screamed. "HEY! I CAN TALK! YES! Now let's find a way off this bed..." I started as I slid my legs over the bed.

I took a deep breath as I prepared myself for what I would only assume, was a failed attempt at walking. I stood up and proceeded to make my way over to the door leading out of the room. As I made my way out of Apollo's palace, I had to hold on to the walls in an attempt to stabilize myself due to feeling extremely light headed. After leaving the palace, I found myself on Olympus surrounded by different palaces where each god could resign to. _I need to get to the Throne Room._ I thought to myself. I didn't exactly know why, but it seemed as though I had to make sure my father wouldn't kill any of the hunters. _They may be assholes, but they weren't the cause of my passing out, so they don't deserve to die._

About ten minutes later, I was in front of the throne room doors trying to decide how I was going to present myself to the council in an attempt to keep Haley safe. _She was the only one that had been nice to me. I can't have dad killing them if that means she would be in danger too._ From outside, I could hear an argument going on between my father and Artemis. From what I could tell, Artemis was losing the argument. I pushed the doors open, making everyone look in my direction. "MAX!" Poseidon exclaimed as he ran towards me, catching me as I was about to fall. "Are you okay?! I haven't seen you in over 5 years! From what I could get out of my niece." He looked over at Artemis full of hate. "You had been attacked by the hunters! I was just telling her that I would reserve their fate to you. If you want, I could kill them for the years of torment they put you through..." He was about to finish, but I interceded, "No. It's fine. Dad, the hunt wasn't to blame for this." I looked at Artemis who seemed to be extremely anxious. "When I first arrived there, they were mean at first. For the first week I was there, I had called them assholes because of how much they wanted to eat. They had piles of laundry that seemed to grow with every passing day, and when I confronted them about it, I was extremely disrespectful towards them. They had tried to be nice and say they were sorry about the laundry, but I didn't want to listen to them." I paused, letting everyone catch up as to what I was saying.

"I should have been nicer to them. They tried to be as nice as they could to me, but I wasn't able to see that. The only reason why they tried to attack me was because of when I had doused their tents in water a week straight in an attempt to make them angry." I finished. Poseidon looked at me, then at Artemis who went from a look of shock, to a look of hatred. "YOU STARTED ATTACKING MY HUNT! NO WONDER THEY REVOLTED AGAINST YOU!" She tried to continue ranting, but Zeus interjected. "So, Max. I assume you're saying that the Hunt, in no way, attacked you without cause?" I nodded. "Then there is no need for murder brother." Poseidon took one last look at me before he returned to his throne.

"If no one else has any important matters to discuss..." He paused looking around the room. "...then this meeting is adjourned." Most of the gods left the room. The only remaining gods were Poseidon, Artemis, Hera, and Apollo. Poseidon walked up to me, and said, "You don't need to cover for them, son. I know you. You would never attack someone without purpose." I looked him straight in the eyes and said one thing. "Dad. I don't want you to kill them. There's a little girl there who remained nice to me. If you kill her sisters, then what would become of her? Even if you left her alive, she would be broken. If she found out that I was the cause of her sisters' deaths, then she would hate me. I can't have her hate me." I bowed to him as I pleaded. "Please Dad. Don't kill any of the hunters."

He pulled me into a hug and said, "Of coarse son. I trust your judgment. If you don't want any harm to come to them, then I won't hurt them." He pulled away, then left the room, leaving Artemis, Hera, Apollo and I. Hera was the next one to speak with me. "It looks as though Artemis owes you a debt." She said looking at Artemis. "Listen, Max. I know about your mother, and I wanted to say I'm sorry. June was a good woman and I'm sure she would want you to be happy." She looked at me straight in the eyes and proceeded to ask, "If you'd like, I would be honored to be your mother. I don't want you to feel alone in this world." I looked at her, then pulled her into a hug as I said, "Of course. I'd love to be your son... Mom." She seemed over joyed at this as she began to squeeze me.

"Max. If you ever need a place to stay, you may stay with Zeus and I. Also, please, do come by and visit. I would love to see my son once and a while at least." I looked at her and smiled. "Of course Mom. I'll be sure to check in with Artemis before coming here to see you." Hera then kissed my forehead before leaving. "Max. To say I'm surprised to see you standing would be an understatement. I honestly expected you to still be in bed, or at least on the floor." Apollo said, looked at me with amazement. "Well, I'm glade you decided to cover for the Hunt. I'd hate to see my sister sad. Her feelings mean a lot to me." He proceeded to say, then look at Artemis before leaving.

"So... You didn't actually do anything to my Hunt?" Artemis asked as she stepped forward. "No. I wouldn't Lady Artemis." I said. She just looked at me before embracing me in a tight hug. "Thank you, Max. Thank you for getting Poseidon to leave my Hunt alone." She said as she started to cry on my shoulder. It felt a little weird to be hugged by the die-hard virgin man-hater, but I did what I thought would help. I wrapped my right arm around her while I stroked her hair with my left. "It's okay Artemis." I said.

We stayed like that for almost half an hour, before she pulled away. "Look. Don't tell anyone about this. Got it?" The look she gave me as she said that, made it clear that if I said anything, I would go through a life a lot worse than being in the Fields of Punishment. "Of course. You have a reputation to uphold. If anyone ever heard about you being nice to a boy, they'd think you'd actually like him." I said as I looked at her, I began to think that she was actually pretty. Well, for a 15 year old. She may be a goddess who's lived for thousands of years, but she always seemed to look like a child.

Kind of like Hestia, who always looked like an 8 year old. I honestly don't get virgin goddesses and looking like children. When I looked back at Artemis, she seemed to be lost in thought. "Do you have the ability to look younger?" She asked after a few moments. I just gave her a questioning look as I asked, "Umm... I have quite a few abilities, so maybe? Why do you ask?" She looked at me with determination. "Well, I was thinking that if you took the form of a child, instead of a 20 year old, then maybe more of the girls would be more open to you." The look I gave her as she said that made it clear I thought she was crazy. "You've got to be kidding me. I'd still be a boy! There's no way they'd be fooled!" I exclaimed, but she just stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. "Fine!" I said as I started to become younger.

Within a few moments, I was shorter than Artemis and could feel my clothes had become baggy. "Any chance I could get some new clothes?" I asked. For a split second, I had the urge to run around and just mess with whatever I found interesting. "Well, we could go see your Mom." Artemis said. _WAIT! I WANNA SEE MOMMY!_ I exclaimed in my head. I could feel my body start to pump with energy at the prospect of seeing my Mom. "I... I don't know." I said. "Well... Then I could give you some of the Hunts' attire." She seemed to be thinking a bit. "Yeah. Maybe if you had the attire of the Hunt, they'd be more open to seeing you." She continued.

"Well, I guess that's okay... What about ' _Older Max'?_ Aren't they going to become suspicious if I was just gone and replaced by a younger version of myself?" I asked her. "Maybe, but since you're literally just a 6 year old, we could just tell them that your mother and step dad had died and the camp was full of bullies that were constantly bullying you. When you ran away, you were attacked by monsters. Just before you died, you were brought to Apollo's Palace where you were treated for your injuries. When you were brought before the council, the council believed that staying with the Hunt would be best for you." She said. Literally putting what happened to me in our "lie". I looked at her, "So we just tell them the truth?" I asked. "Yeah, pretty much." She replied.

When we arrived at the camp, the hunters gathered around Artemis and I as they started questioning who I was. "Girls, girls. Calm down. This is Max. He ran away from the Camp because he was profusely bullied there. His parents had died, so he had no where to go. Apollo had found him trying to fight a horde of monsters who had attacked him. Because of the numerous injuries he sustained, the council thought it would be best for him to travel with us since the last boy to travel with us left unexpectedly."

I knew she was talking about me, but I started to tremble at the thought of some boy just up and leaving. I hid behind Artemis as I looked at the other girls who were glaring at me. When they saw me hide behind her, their moods seemed to do a 180 because they started to be nice to me. "Hey, it's okay! We're not going to hurt you." One of the girls said, kneeling down so she was just about my height. "Were boys picking on you at camp?" Another asked. I nodded. I could see their faces change to anger before they tried to comfort me. "Is it okay if I ask what they did?" Jodie came up and asked me.

I looked up at her, then decided to tell them most of what happened at the camp. "W...when my mommy died, I had to run away because there were a bunch of scary monsters attacking me. When I got to the camp, some people said they could help me. They let me stay in a camp were I thought I made some new friends, but the next day..." I started to cry. "The next day they took me into the bathroom where no one could see us and started to throw me against the wall. When I tried to fight back, they pulled out knives and started hurting me with the knives. As I was on the floor, I could see red stuff coming out of me." I pointed around my body were the boys had stabbed me.

"I don't know why they were mean to me... But when they started picking on one of the older girls, I went up and grabbed one of their knives and started doing to them what they did to me. The girl ran away screaming. I thought I had helped her because they were taking off her clothes as she started crying, but... maybe I'm no good at all..." I continued to weep behind Artemis. Jodie knelt down and said, "You remind me of a friend I used to have. He looked a lot like you. I wish he hadn't done what he did to his girlfriend, but I'm sure you're better than that. You look like a nice kid." She said with a smile. I tried to smile back at her, but I remembered she was talking about me. She still didn't know what happened.

 _Artemis. Could you tell her what happened with... well, what happened with my ex-girlfriend before I left camp. Could you tell her the truth about why I had left camp._ I thought to Artemis. Artemis looked at me and nodded. "Jodie. I know you don't like our last Guardian, but he left camp because of what his girlfriend had done to _him_." Jodie looked at Artemis questioningly. "What do you mean Milady?" She asked. "Jodie, that maiden had cheated on Max. She had slept with one of the boys at that camp in his own bed. When Max had tried to talk to her about it, she told him that he was worthless now that there wasn't any wars left. She then started spreading rumors about Max saying that _he_ had slept with multiple girls as well as goddesses and had gotten them all pregnant." Artemis said. Jodie's face seemed to contort with anger for a moment, then said, "So she lied to me? I thought she was my friend, but she lied to me! I trusted her! I... I attacked Max because I thought he had hurt her!" Jodie said as she started to cry.

I walked towards her and hugged her. "It's okay, Jodie. Please don't cry." I said as I felt tears well up in my eyes. She looked at me, and hugged me back saying, "I'm fine. It's okay Max. You don't need to cry." I could feel some of the other girls form a group hug around Jodie and I. After a few moments, I could hear the crickets around us. "Well, I think we should get something to eat." Artemis said. Everyone began to disperse as they headed to a large tent. "Come on, Max. Let's go eat." Jodie said as she grabbed my hand pulling me gently towards the tent. When we got inside, all I could say was "Whoa!" I know I've seen this before, but part of me couldn't help but be amazed at this. Inside the mess tent was a large table where the hunters were all sitting.

Jodie sat down next to Artemis and Haley, gesturing for me to sit next to Haley. As I sat down, Haley started whispering to me. "Max? Why are you a kid now?" I looked at her, shocked. "How did you know?!" I whispered. She chuckled a bit. "Max, you have the same name, same eyes, and pretty much the same looks." She paused for a moment, before continuing. "I'm glade you're back, though. I missed you." I smiled warmly at her. "Should I get the food?" I asked her. She nodded. "Yes, please. The food since you left has been terrible." I smiled warmly at her, before snapping my fingers.

Within an instant, the Hunt almost jumped from their seats as the food they had ordered the last time I was here, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Is he here?!" One of the girls asked, looking around. "I think he's a ghost!" Another shouted. I just said, "Who are you talking about? I didn't see any food, so I thought I would use an ability Aunt Hestia gave me." I started to look down as I said, "Do you not like it?" I could tell they were startled by my sudden display of power and the choice of words I used, but I could hear some forks picking up food and people starting to enjoy it. "It's delicious! Thanks Max!" They said as everyone started eating. I looked at my bowl of cereal, contemplating whether I would have to vomit later if I started eating it. "Max, aren't you going to eat?" I heard Jodie ask. I looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. I just haven't had anything to eat in a long time. I'm not really hungry either." I said.

She just continued to say, "Well, little boys need to eat if they want to grow up big and strong like us." She gestured around the room at all of the hunters. Some of them flexed their arms in mock strength. I started laughing internally, then said, "Well, I'm not a really good fighter though." Dinner went by pretty smoothly. After everyone was finished, we all walked out the the tent and out of routine, I started walking to the outskirts of the camp to look up at the stars, when I heard Artemis say, "Max. I want you to sleep in my tent tonight." Some of the hunters looked at Artemis, who just replied, "He's more comfortable around me. I also don't want him to be sleeping out here in the snow." The ones who had begun questioning her just nodded their heads as they believed her.

When Artemis and I entered her tent, I turned to look at her. "What were you thinking? I was going to go watch the stars like normal." I said as quietly as I could. "Max, you don't need to be quite. All of the tents are soundproof because some of the hunters snore." Artemis replied, before adding. "You shouldn't go without sleep. You shouldn't even be going without food, but you've been doing that for over 5 years. It's not healthy." She paused. "Look... I don't want you to get hurt... Just... just sleep here for the time being." She got in the single bed in the room and gestured for me to lie down next to her.

"Artemis, I don't think I could do that. Isn't this kind of in appropriate? I don't think Mama would like it if I was sleeping with a girl." I said without thinking. "Max... did you just say 'Mama'? Are you feeling okay?" Artemis asked looking at me questioningly. "What?" I asked her. _Did I say that? I don't remember saying that..._ I thought. "Uhm... okay. I guess it couldn't hurt." I said, lying down next to Artemis. After an hour, I could hear her breathing soften as she drifted off to sleep. I didn't know if sleeping closely with her was a good idea, so I tried to lie as close to the edge and away from her as possible. I don't remember falling asleep, but all of a sudden, I woke up screaming. "NO!"

Next to me, I felt Artemis stir as she woke up. "Max? Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes still droopy as she yawned. I looked at her as I remembered my dream.

… _DREAM..._

"MAX! DON'T DO IT!" Artemis screamed at me as she was being dragged by a Giant. "Well, well. It looks like we've found the weakness of the great, Maximum Chase. I give you once last chance. Will you join us, or do I need to _kill_ your goddess?" I tried to struggle against the black chains binding me. "DON'T HURT HER! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU IF YOU HURT HER!" I screamed at the shadowy figure drifting around me. "Ah, but you know exactly what to do to stop me from hurting your goddess. Just say ' _Yes'_ and I'll make sure she won't be harmed. I'll give you to the count of 3." I looked at Artemis as she tried to struggle. Her eyes pleading for some miracle. A miracle I couldn't give her. I'd tried, but I wasn't strong. I didn't even have any of my abilities. My once silver eyes had become a dark blue. I knew that I was now just a human.

Before this figure's presence, I was nothing more than a human. I couldn't do anything. I was powerless against him. "3..." He said, snapping me out of my daze. "NO, PLEASE!" I tried to plead. "...2..." He continued. "NO!" I screamed. My mind was racing. I had to think of something. If I joined him, I was going to be forced to kill everyone I cared about. If I refused... then everyone I cared about would still die. "NO!" I screamed again.

 _...END OF DREAM..._

"...MAX!" Artemis screamed at me. She was shaking my body, trying to get my attention. "Huh?" I asked. She looked at me with worry. "Are you okay?" She asked. I didn't know how to answer her. I was still trying to interpret my dream. I didn't know why I was having such a dream. _Maybe it's because I finally got some sleep. My mind is probably just exhausted from the lack of sleep._ I thought to myself. "I... I don't know..." I answered. "Tell me what happened." She said in a strict tone. I didn't have any other ideas, so I complied.

As I told her my dream, she seemed to question what it all meant. When I finished telling her what happened, she asked, "Everything you cared about? Also, why would I be in your dream? Almost none of this makes sense..." She drifted off as she seemed to be lost in thought. I looked at the clock on the desk across the tent and could see that it was 2:09 AM. "Max. What do you think about me?" Artemis asked. I turned to look at her, and could see that she was serious. "I think you're a really nice big sis!" I said. She looked at me, then asked. "Max, could you age yourself a few years then answer that question again?" I nodded. After a few moments, I sat at the same height as Artemis.

"What do you think about me?" She asked again. As I looked at her, I started to blush. "I... I don't know... You're cool, I guess..." I said, turning my head away from her. "Do you mind aging yourself again, then telling me how you feel?" She asked. Again, I nodded. I was now taller than her as we sat next to one another. She seemed to age slightly before she began to speak. "Max, what do you think about me?" This time, I couldn't help myself from replying. "Artemis... You're beautiful. I love you're dark brown hair, your silver eyes, and the way you smile. When you smile at how your hunters behave with one another, it's intoxicating. A few years ago, when I was 6, I thought you were just a cool big sister. As I grew up..." I paused before continuing. "Look, I don't care what anyone says. Artemis, I love you. You and the hunters mean the world to me. If I didn't have you girls, I doubt I would have been able to find myself. When I'm with all of you, I can't imagine life getting any better. I wish that life could always go on like this. Just all of us together, having fun." I grabbed Artemis in a tight embrace.

"If you don't feel the same, then I will wait for you. I don't care how long it takes, but I will wait for you." I said as I pulled back from her, to look her in the eyes. "Max... I... I can't. I have to take care of my hunters. If I broke my oath, then I couldn't be with them. I can't do that... I can't do _this._ " She got up. "Look. Just... just leave." She asked, looking at the floor. I got up and walked up to the door. Before I left, I turned to look at her and proceeded to say, "Artemis... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have joined your Hunt all those years ago. If we hadn't met when I was a kid... I wouldn't have fallen for you." I left the tent. As I walked through the camp, I would occasionally look up at the stars.

Before I could register what was happening, I felt an arrow penetrate my knee, making me drop to the ground. "Who are you, _boy_?!" A hunter asked as she pressed a knife to my throat. I looked up at the girl as a tear slide down my eye. "Max?! W... I thought you died!" Jodie exclaimed as she bent down and hugged me. "Why are you crying? Where have you been?" I looked at her, and replied. "I... I made a mistake. I... I need to leave. I can't be here. Not now." I stood up. I could feel my leg threaten to give out as I applied pressure to it. "Max! You can't just leave! You just got here! I need to tell you I'm sorry!" She tried to call out to me, but I was already hobbling away.

I could hear her run off in another direction. After a few moments, I made my way to a fallen tree where I tried to sit down, but ended up falling and hitting my head against the tree. I looked down at my knee and started to pull the arrow out, but stopped as the pain became excruciatingly worse. " I need to go see Mom. She's always helped me. I'm sure she'd be able to help with my leg." I said before getting up.

It took me a moment to get my bearings before I flashed away. When the light dispersed, I stood before a marble palace. I made my way up the steps and knocked on the door. After a few moments, I could hear rustling behind the gold door. When the door opened, Zeus stood there in a gold robe. "Max? Is that you?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Can I see Mom for a few?" He looked at me, then replied, "Mom? Oh, you mean Hera. Ah, sorry. I'd forgotten she had adopted you. Sure, come in. You can take a seat on the coach over there while I go get her." He said as he went up stairs. I sat down on the dark leather coach in what I assumed was some type of living room.

There were two small statues of Zeus and Hera near a large T.V. In the front of the room. A couple of large book cases could be seen surrounding the room and near the back of the room, there was a polished black grand piano. After a few minutes, Hera walked into the room. "Max. What's wrong? Why do you look so much younger? Have you been crying? What happened?" She asked then began bombarding me with questions. I took a deep breath before I did my best to explain what had happened the day before. After half an hour of trying to explain what the past few years I thought I had lived, I found out that I never had experienced. Yesterday, I was a 23 year old who had gone to see the council because I had passed out.

I had become a kid so the Hunt would be able to except me. When Artemis and I slept together, I had experienced a bad dream. Artemis asked me to tell her how I felt, but I wasn't able to give her the answer she was looking for, so she asked me to age myself, and when I had aged myself, I had developed memories of a life I never lived. "What's happening to me, Mom?" I asked as my eyes started to water. "I don't know, baby... I don't know." She answered as she stroked my back. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep as she held me.


	3. Chapter 3

_III_

 _SORTING OUT THE PAST_

When I woke up, my mom was stroking my hair softly. "Would you like something to eat?" She asked softly. I stayed silent for a few moments, just feeling content with life at that moment. " It's okay Mom. I'm not hungry." I said, but was told. "My son needs to eat, so I'm going to make some breakfast for you, Zeus and I. Now, could you go wake him up?" I looked up at her and replied, "But, Mom!" She just smiled at me warmly, then said, "No buts young man. March up those stairs and wake up Zeus." I stood up and soon found myself shorter than her, but shrugged it off and made my way up stairs.

When I made my way to a door that seemed to lead to a master room, I knocked on the door and waited a few moments. When I knocked again, I opened the door a bit and said, "Zeus? Mommy said it's time to wake up." I opened the door more and made my way over to the large bed at the end of the room. When I got to the bed, I could see a man sleeping covered in a silk sheet. I put my hand on his shoulder and began to attempt to wake him up. "Zeus? Mommy says it's time to wake up." I said trying to shake him lightly. After a few failed attempts, I tried to shake harder, but found my strength was failing me. "Zeus! Mommy says it's time to wake..." I tried to finish my sentence, but stumbled back scared as he woke up a little disoriented and began questioning me. "Who are you! What do you mean 'Mommy'?! Are you speaking about my wife?! I'll kill the bastard who got my wife pregnant!"

I tried to continue backing away from the angry Zeus, but was soon cornered between him and a wall. "MOMMY!" I screamed as tears began flowing down my cheeks. "Max?! Max! What's wrong?!" I could hear her running up the stairs. When the door burst open, I could feel her wrapping her arms around me as Zeus began questioning her. "Who's child is this?! When did you have an affair with me?! When did he arrive here?!" Zeus questioned loudly, making my tears flow out of my eyes more freely. "Zeus! This is Max! You let him into the house yesterday!" Mom exclaimed to him.

He seemed to calm down as he began to assess the situation. "I thought Max wasn't a 5 year old?" He asked. I looked up between him and Mom, trying to decipher what was happening. One moment, Zeus had been ready to kill me, the next he's speaking calmly. I was freaked out to say the least. "He is, but he became younger last night as I was letting him rest his head on my lap. When he woke up, I had told him to come and wake you, but you ended up scaring him." She explained. I could see him kneel down and attempt to say he was sorry. I tensed up when his hand reached for me, but didn't sense any malice so I aloud him to rub my head a bit. "I'm sorry, Max. I didn't recognize you. I hope you're not mad at me?" As he finished saying this, I shook my head, then replied. "No, it's okay. You're usually like this in the morning." I said. He raised an eyebrow at me, then looked at Mom. After a few moments, Mom looked down at me and asked, "Max. Do you mind if Zeus and I left you here for a few hours?"

I looked at her, then at Zeus. "Is Arty coming to play again?" I asked. They both exchanged looks between one another, then Mom said, "Maybe. I'll see if she's busy today. She does live with her friends so they might have plans." I looked down a little disappointed. Zeus then asked, "Why don't we just invite Artemis and the Hunt over here for the day while we go out, Honey?" My mood did a 180 as I was excited at the prospect of seeing Arty and Haley again. "Mommy! Is that okay? Please say it's okay!" I tried to get Mom to say okay, but she looked between Zeus and I for a few moments, then said, "I don't see why not." I could feel my face become tense as I was now smiling widely exclaiming, "Thank you Mommy!" Who began to laugh.

"You need to go take a bath, though. I'll get you some clothes, okay?" Hera said. I nodded then said, "Of course! You always say that being clean is good, especially if you're meeting friends and family." I ran out of the room after hugging Mom and Zeus. After a few minutes of running around the house trying to look for the bathroom, I went back to Mommy's room to find she and Zeus whispering. "Look, I don't understand what's happening. It's like he doesn't even remember his life." Zeus whispered. "I know! But I can't leave him alone! He's only 5 right now! I doubt he even knows how to use his abilities!" Hera exclaimed in a soft voice. After a few moments, Zeus began to speak. "Honey, I know. I know you love him, but this isn't something we've seen before. I doubt Apollo would know anything about this."

I walked in at the mention of Apollo. "Ap...Apollo's a meanie! He keeps making Arty mad! I don't like him!" They shot their heads in my direction with shocked expressions adorning their faces. "Max! H... How much did you hear?" Zeus asked. I looked at him, then said, "All I heard was you talking about Apollo. I don't like him. He's a meanie." I continued, then added. "Did the bathroom move? I thought it was down stairs, but I couldn't find it." They looked at me, then Mommy took my hand and showed me where the bathroom was. "Do you need any help, dear?" Mom asked. I shook my head as I began to take off my shirt. "No, I can do it myself Mommy. I'll be clean in no time!" I said as I finished taking off my baggy pants.

"Okay, just call me if you need anything, okay?" Mom said. "Okay! Love you Mommy!" I exclaimed as I got into the large bath tube. "I love you too, Max." She said before closing the door and leaving. The bathtub was big enough that my feet couldn't touch the bottom. I was even able to swim around freely inside it. "Whoa! This is like a pool! I bet Arty would love this!" I exclaimed as I swam for a few minutes. After a while of swimming I heard a knock at the door. "Max? Are you finished?" Mom asked. I tried to answer, but I felt something grab my leg and start to pull me further into the depths of the little pool. "Mommy!" I screamed before I was dragged down.

I could hear the door being pounded on followed by a flash of light inside the bathroom. The next thing I knew was seeing a pair of hands reach in and grab me. When I opened my eyes after coughing for a few minutes, I found myself being coddled by Mom. "Max! Are you okay?! What happened?!" Mommy asked me. I was too shaken up to say anything other than, "It was a monster Mommy..." Zeus came inside the bathroom to find Mom holding me as I was crying. "What happened?" He asked. Mom looked at him and said, "Max says a monster was attacking him. How could they attack him on Olympus?!" She asked. "I... I don't know. I think we really need to go find out. I'll go get Artemis." He said, then flashed out of the room.

"It's going to be okay, Max." Mom said as she was stroking my hair, which was for some reason, dry. "Come on. Let's go get you dressed before Artemis comes over to visit, okay?" She said, making me nod slowly in response. After half an hour, I was fully dressed in some of the clothes I used when I went to attend the meetings Mommy and Zeus went to. I would always wait patiently beside Mommy's throne so I could play with Arty when she was done with the boring adult work.

When Arty and her friends appeared with Zeus, I ran up to Arty and hugged her. "Arty! I'm glade you're here!" I exclaimed as everyone began looking at the two of us. I stepped back, and looked at Arty. "Whoa! You're like more of a grown up now! I thought being at those boring meetings Mommy and Zeus go to was like being a grown up, but you're so tall now!" I continued admiring Arty for a few minutes before Mommy said she and Zeus had to leave. "Mommy! Be safe! I love you!" I said as I ran up and hugged her goodbye. "I will Max. You have fun with your friends, okay?" I smiled at her. "Don't worry! Arty's a grown up now! She can take care of us!" I replied. She and Zeus then left, leaving all of us alone.

"Hey! How come you guys look the same? Isn't everyone supposed to get older?" I asked the group of girls looking at me with shocked expressions. "Max... What happened to you?" Arty asked as she walked up to me. "Nothing Arty. Mommy and Zeus were leaving, so I asked if we could have a play date again. Don't you remember when we used to have play dates?" I asked her as I tilted my head a bit. "Oh! Mommy and Zeus were talking about Apollo! I told them he was a meanie and that they shouldn't invite him again! Remember when he came over last week? He was a big meanie head to you!" I exclaimed as I started ranting on and on about how mean Apollo was, well, to her.

One of the girls walked up to Arty and asked. "Why is Max younger now? I thought he was 6? Not 5? Also, I thought his parents had died? Why is Hera his mom?" Another girl added, "Yeah? Hera doesn't have kids, so why is Max calling her 'Mommy'? Doesn't she hate demi-gods?" I walked up to them and asked, "What's a de...dem..." I started to become frustrated at not being able to say demi-god like they could. "Why can I say that like you guys?! This isn't fair! I wish I was older so I could say that!" I exclaimed in agitation. After I said that, I could feel myself become dizzy. "Why's the world spinning?" I asked. When the world stopped spinning, I could see the shocked expressions of the girls in my Mom's house. "What's wrong?" I asked as I looked at them.

"Max... I can't believe it's you!" Jodie exclaimed as she ran up to me. When she hugged me, I looked at everyone then said, "Yeah? Why wouldn't it be me? Don't you know your own cousin who've you've literally see every month? I mean come on. Don't you guys realize how many times we hang out every month?" I asked them. I looked at Artemis, then asked, "Come on Artemis. Tell me Apollo hasn't made them finally lose it? If he has, I'm gonna need to crack his head again." At the mention of threatening him, a bright light appeared in the room. "You're going to what, Max?" He asked. I walked up to him. "Look Apollo. You keep messing with the Hunt and being mean to Artemis, then I'll just have to keep cracking your head open. Or did you forget the beating I gave you when you tried hitting on Jodie at the party the council was hosting a few months ago?" I said while glaring at him.

I could see him shrink away with my glare, but he soon got a look of wonder across his face. "Wait... the council never had a party a few months ago. Also, you don't beat me up... Wait! I haven't hit on Jodie yet!" I looked at him as if he was crazy. "Yeah, sure. Keep denying it man." I turned to look at the Hunt. "You guys remember that, right?You guys were shooting arrows at Hercules and Dionysus? Apollo had a little too much to drink and started hitting on every girl in sight? Aphrodite was making out with Ares?" I tried to go on, but the looks I was receiving from everyone started to make me believe I was crazy, or everyone was suddenly having amnesia.

"Apollo. This was what I was talking about. Whenever Max makes himself younger, or older, his life becomes blurred. It's as if his mind tries to connect the dots of his life before whatever age he was at the present moment." Artemis said. I looked at Artemis, then at the Hunt, then finally back to Artemis. "Wait... so we weren't talking last night about..." I started, but I felt tears start to form in my eyes. Without another word, I burst through the door of my Mom's palace and ran through the streets of Olympus. People all around me were giving me curious looks as I ran through the streets, trying to get as far away from Artemis as possible. After a few moments of running around, I found myself at the edge of Olympus. As I looked down, I could see skyscrapers looming below. Without a second thought, I jumped in an attempt to kill myself.

I closed my eyes as I was in free fall, plummeting towards the ground like a rock. As I was falling, I began to contemplate what had happened in my life. What was real, and what wasn't. I needed to put everything in order before I died. If I don't, then if I survive this fall, I don't know if at some point, I'll even forget my name... _I need to start with when I was a child. The moment my Mom died and I went on the run..._

 _12 Years Ago_

 _"MOM!" I screamed as I witnessed the murder of my own mother right in front of my eyes. The thing that murdered her then turned towards me. "Ah, Maximum Chase. My lady will be quite pleased when I bring you to see her." He looked straight into my eyes and continued to say, "Oh, your mother? That's why you're crying. Ah, no matter. When you join Milady's army, you won't need a mother, but she may take you on as a son." The figure started inching towards me slowly, as if walking was an excruciating thing to do. I couldn't move as my eyes were fixed by his. My mind started screaming at my muscles to move. When the figure was a halfway across the room from me, I made a silent prayer to any god in existence. I prayed for the ability to not be trapped by someone like this again. I prayed to become strong enough to protect those I cared for._

 _"Now, now. There's no need to struggle. We'll be with my Mistress soon enough." The figure said as I was starting to get the ability to move. When he was just within reach, I was finally able to move freely, and soon darted underneath him and towards the fire-escape to the apartment I had lived in. I had to keep running for almost a year as monsters began attacking me almost constantly. The few times I was able to eat or sleep usually didn't last long before I was attacked again. During my time on the run, I had learned about the abilities I had such as the ability to control and manipulate water._

 _The first couple times I had used it, I was almost unable to move afterwards. Weeks later, I learned about the ability to teleport from one place to another by using the water molecules in the air, then using it to travel any distance fairly quickly. This wasn't as taxing on my body, so I tended to use it more often when I wasn't being ganged up on by monsters or people trying to rob me for whatever money they assumed I had._

 _Before that year was done, I had found a few people being attacked by a group of monsters. It looked as though they were having a hard time defeating the hell hounds and Giants that had surrounded them, so I used my ability over water to create a pair of small ice daggers so I had a weapon against the monsters. Within moments, the hell hounds had been dispatched, but the Giants were proving more difficult because when they were practically defeated, they would regenerate any missing limbs and begin attacking once more. After a few minutes of dealing with this, I decided to freeze them when they were almost a pile of gold ash, then break the ash apart with water so the two girls, one goat dude, and I would be able to leave._

 _They said that the monsters had been tracking them down for almost a week, but knew of a safe haven for people like us. They called people like us, demi-gods. People who were born from a mortal and a god. The goat man called himself a satyr, a protector of sorts, who went around gathering demi-gods and bringing them to the safe haven that had I had yet to be told about. As we made our way to this ''Safe Haven'', we began introducing ourselves to one another. The two girls had been friends for years, and as it turns out, the satyr who was accompanying them was the one who brought both of them to their haven. One of the girl's names was Xion. She had a light tanned body, brown eyes, and jet black hair. She was around me age, which by now was 7. The other girl's name was Jodie, who looked similar to Xion in the way of eyes, hair, and skin. Jodie claimed she was 12, which I thought was really cool. Evidently, Xion's mother was Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. Jodie said her father was Zeus, the King of the Gods as well as the God of the Sky._

 _Jodie proceeded to give me a little demonstration of her powers as she called for a bolt of lightning, which she used to light our fire. I was clapping at this because it was, by every right, amazing. Later that night, everyone started playing a card game Xion was carrying with her. "Watch out. Xion's really good with strategy." Jodie whispered in my ear. It was called Black Jack. Evidently, you would bet something that you would either lose, or you would be able to keep as well as gain whatever the other player(s) had bet. Since I really didn't have anything to bet, they just wanted me to give them a demonstration of what I could do, if anything at all. They had bet some gold coins they were carrying around while the satyr bet an aluminum can he had._

 _I ended up losing the first round to Xion, then won the second round, and ended up losing the third round to Xion again. I didn't exactly know what I was doing the entire time, but I thought it was kind of cool I was able to win a round. Xion was able to get the aluminum can, the gold coins, and a demonstration of my powers. I ended up asking if she wanted something big, or small. Everyone wanted something big, so I told them to stand back. I didn't tell them to stop until they were at least 10 yards away. I held my breath for a moment, trying to come up with what I should do. After a few moments, I released my breath and snapped my fingers._

 _The entire area we were in instantly became a winter wonderland as snow began to fall, snowmen and woman could be found scattering the area, and a statue of Xion, Jodie, and the Satyr who refused to withdraw his name could be seen made out of ice. As the three friends got closer, the snow people came to life and began moving towards them in an imitation of evil. When they would try to attack the snow people, they would regenerate and start attacking again._

 _Finally, after a few screams later, I made everything disappear. They looked at me with shocked expressions on their faces. "That was too big!" Xion exclaimed. I just shrugged. "That wasn't very big. I just wanted some entertainment." I said, earning a punch to the shoulder from Jodie as we all began to joke about the little event that had transpired. The next day, we were able to make it to what I could make out was a camp, but they called 'The School'. At The School, there were a bunch of cabins where each major god's children would sleep. The unclaimed children were put into a cabin that was just there. Almost every cabin had a specific quality about it that popped out, but the cabin where the unclaimed kids would sleep, looked exactly like a normal cabin. No special details, no number indication, and was away from the other cabins._

 _I was told that unless I was claimed, which they could already figure out who my parent was, I would have to sleep in the unclaimed cabin. The rest of that day had gone pretty well. I felt as though I had made some friends with Xion and Jodie. The satyr I didn't see very much, but I thought he was okay. When it was evening, everyone went to the dinning pavilion, got magical food that just appeared, and took the food over to a fire where they would dump the food. I didn't understand this until a camper behind me said it was an offering to the god of your choice. You put a portion of your food in the pit and prayed to whoever you wanted to._

 _When it was my turn, I dumped all of my food into the pit and prayed for all of the unclaimed campers. I prayed to all of the gods I was told about and asked for them to claim their children who I could see felt lonely. I then went back to the table where I was assigned to sit since I wasn't claimed. Before dinner was over, multiple large flashes appeared in the middle of the dinning pavilion. Within those lights, I could see people just materialize there. When the light faded, I could see 13 men and woman wearing white togas, well one guy wore a black toga, along with different colored armor._

 _When the campers got over their shock, they all got out of their seats and bowed to the people standing there. I looked around at everyone bowing at these people, then I looked at the group of people who had appeared. "Why aren't you bowing, boy? Will you not show the Gods the respect we deserve?" A man came up to me, holding a great sword. His eyes were red and as I peered into them, I could see wars being waged and the deaths of millions of people. I continued to look at him, then said, "I don't bow to anyone. Not unless you give me a reason to bow." The man seemed to grow increasingly irritated as he drew his great sword and made an attempt to attack me. "Ares! You will NOT attack my son!" A man walked wearing a white toga adorned with sea blue armor wielding a trident said as he walked up behind Ares._

 _"I don't care if he's your son, Uncle. He'd better learn some respect, otherwise I won't be so forgiving next time." Ares said. I laughed at him. "I think you should be careful who you speak to. I don't care if you're a god, if you want, I'll fight you right now. In fact, let's make a little bet." I said, making Ares turn around, seemingly interested. "Go on." He said. Yep, he's interested. "If you win, then I'll do whatever you desire for the next century, but if I win, then I want you and the rest of the gods to claim all of their children present here today." I said._

 _He scoffed. "Deal kid. I'll make the rules." Ares said. Everyone gasped at this change in events. "Son, don't do this. He's a god! You may be a child of mine, but going against the God of War at your age is suicide!" The god who claimed to be my father said. I looked at him and said, "If this means the kids here won't be lonely, then I don't care. I have to win." Ares and I began walking towards an arena type area where everyone from the pavilion gathered to spectate. "That kid's got guts, but he's going to die." One of the campers said. Quite a few of the campers whispered their agreements._

 _"The rules are simple. You can use whatever you have to use in an attempt to incapacitate your opponent. Understood?" Ares asked, to which I nodded. One of the other gods then started announcing the fight like some spokes person. "Now in the left corner, weighing at 300 pounds of pure muscle, at the height of 6' 4", we have Ares, The God of War!" Quite a few campers either whistled or cheered for Ares. "Finally, in the right corner, weighing at 100 pounds and at the height of 4' 11", we have Max Chase, The Son of Poseidon!" The only one to cheer for me was my own father._

 _"Let's get ready to rumble!" The spokes God exclaimed. Within an instant, Ares was in front of me, swinging his Great sword at me. I just stood there and lifted up my hand as I grabbed the blade. The impact of my hand against the blade cause a gust of dirt to blow across the field. "Ah, now I get to let loose!" Ares exclaimed with excitement. It almost sounded like he was a kid at Disneyland. He reached behind him and drew another Great sword and tried to swing it in the opposite direction, only for both of the blades to be shattered in a blink of an eye._

 _"Well, if you want to use weapons, do you mind giving me one to? I want one of those big swords you have." I said. He looked at his shattered swords, then at me. "You sure you want to use one? Their difficult to swing around." He asked. I nodded. "Okay, here you go." He said, casting aside his broken swords and summoning two more. He through me one of them and when I caught it, it was a little less than twice my size. I could hear people laughing at how ridiculous I looked with the sword, but Ares silenced them. "Quite! He's a worthy fighter! He could easily beat all of you! Can't you tell he's not even trying!" He exclaimed at them, then turned to me. "Why won't you just try! I want to know the extent of your strength!" He screamed at me. I just shrugged. "The truth is, I don't know what my full strength is yet." I said. I could feel the tension grow after I said that. "Then I guess I'll just have to try harder!" Ares said as he started attacking me at a faster pace than he had shown before._

 _I held the sword he gave me with my right hand directly behind me, then used my left hand to move his sword to the side before it was able to strike me. After a few moments of this, I could see Ares starting to tire as sweat could be seen dripping from his body and as his breath started to become heavy. "Man, I wasn't even able to use this sword!" I exclaimed as I just punched him in the gut, sending him flying into the gods. I then swung the sword over my shoulder and casually walked up to a collapsed Ares. When I reached him, I shoved the sword into the ground next to him and asked, "Do you mind if we go at it again? I want to try using this sword." He nodded._

 _I could feel the crowds' gaze upon us as I reached out my hand and helped Ares stand. "So, now you guys have to claim all of your children, right?" I asked. He looked at the other gods who nodded. "Well, to be honest kid. That's why we were here. We came here to claim all of our children. Everyone felt that it should be done since a you gave up your meal in an attempt for it to happen." I could see some of the campers almost cry at the prospect of being claimed. I felt sorry for them. I had no idea how long they had been here, but to cry because of something like this... it felt sad._

 _Within a few moments, all of the campers who hadn't been claimed suddenly had a glowing symbol above their head. People would gasp then cheer for their siblings who would finally be joining them in their rightful cabin._

 _Suddenly all of the campers knelt when they looked above my head. I tried to figure out what they were doing, but I could guess why when Poseidon walked up and put his hand on my shoulder. "All hail Maximum Chase, Son of Poseidon, God of the Seas!" They all got up and started cheering for me. When they picked me up, I got scared and teleported myself behind Xion and Jodie, who looked behind them and had a look of pure shock written on their faces. "How did you do that?!" Jodie exclaimed. Everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing. "Umm... I teleported?" I guessed at what they were wondering.  
_

_"No Seaweed Brain. How did you teleport?" Xion asked. I looked at her, then at everyone else, then back at Xion. "Well, I just travel within the moisture in the air, which I'm able to do for long distances. It's not as taxing on my body as when I summon a storm, or when I had to fight that army of one-eyed people and those hell hounds using those ice daggers I made... Now that was difficult. Although, I had to do that almost a year ago, so it might not be as bad if I did it again." When I finished my explanation, I could see people start to shuffle in place at the prospect of how much power I held. "Well, he's certainly the strongest child of Poseidon we've ever seen." A woman who had light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and olive skin said as she walked up towards Poseidon and I._

 _"That's true Hera. He's only 7 years old and yet he holds enough power to challenge Ares as well as the rest of us." Poseidon said as he grinned at me. I couldn't help but grin back at him. "The question is, will he become a danger to Olympus in the future?" Another woman asked. She had blonde hair, grey eyes, and olive skin. She was dressed in a white toga, gold armor, and had a golden shield and spear strapped to her back. "Athena, I'm positive my son won't harm Olympus." Poseidon said as he squeezed my shoulder tightly. I could feel his hand tremble as if he wasn't sure of whether or not I would turn against everyone here._

 _I looked up at Athena and said, "I don't want to hurt anyone here. They all seem nice. Especially Xion and Jodie." I said looking over at the two girls. Athena followed my gaze and gestured Xion to come over. "Xion, is this boy your friend?" She asked. Xion nodded her head. "Yes, Mom. He helped Jodie, Kyle, and I against a horde of hell hounds and Giants who had been tracking us for a week straight. When he showed up, he was able to take care of all of the enemies quicker than we had in a week. It was surprising Mother." Xion said. Athena looked between the both of us, then said, "I'd better not hear about you two having sex anytime soon." Xion's faced became red as I looked between them, then at Poseidon. "What's sex?" I asked. Poseidon then began coughing loudly. "Uh, I'd better go. I'll talk to you later son!" He said before flashing out._

 _"Does anyone know what sex is?" I asked the remaining gods as well as the campers. I could hear laughing as the gods all flashed away. I looked at Jodie. "Why's everyone laughing?" I asked. She looked at me, then replied, "I'll tell you sometime when you're older, okay?" I nodded. After that, I was shown where I would be sleeping during my time at camp as everyone went to bed. "Night Xion." I said as she began walking away. "Night Max." She replied._

The next few years went by in a haze. I had gone on to become better able to use my powers as well as able to use a wide range of weapons with ease. I had been in two Great Wars that involved that fate of the world. Each War, the Gods would always win, but at the cost of so many lives. Before the second Great War, Xion and I started going out on dates. To say everything was amazing would have been an understatement. When I was with her, we would always chat about what we wanted to do when we became adults. We were both 15 now, but Xion wanted to become a great battle strategist. It had been her dream since she was a child. I on the other hand wanted to remain with her. I had told her in seriousness that where ever she went, I'd follow.

She said she thought that was extremely sweet. During the second Great War, Xion had almost died. When she had been captured by a Titan, I had lost it. The Titan had been seconds from sexually assaulting her when I snapped. My vision had gone a crimson red and what I had thought was hours, had turned out to be seconds before Xion and I were safe from the Titans that had captured us. My reward for coming to her rescue was the first kiss we ever shared. It had been a moment of pure bliss as we attended the party held to celebrate our victory against the Titans.

The scene stopped and was replaced by a moment that would happen in my future. A moment that would shatter my once perfect world...

 _Two Years After The Second Great War_

 _I came back from a mission assigned to me by Athena in hopes of being able to ask Xion for her hand in marriage. When I had finished my mission and went to see Athena, she started asking me not to propose to Xion. When I would try to ask why, she replied that it wasn't her place to say. I shrugged this off and told her that I would propose to her anyway._

 _When I appeared at The School, I made my way to the Athena cabin in hopes of finding Xion. "Uh, I thought she had gone with you to your cabin? Last I saw of her is when she followed a guy into the Poseidon cabin." He seemed to suddenly realize what he had said, "Wait! Why don't you come in here and wait for her?" He was practically pleading at this moment. "Are you okay? She was probably showing a new son of Poseidon their cabin. I doubt there's anything to be worried about. I trust her with my entire being." I told him as I made my way to the Poseidon cabin to see my girlfriend and my new brother._

 _I could see people glaring at me as I made my way to my cabin. A couple of people even threw throwing knives at me, which I took as a game and threw them at a throwing board they were near. "Nice one guys!" I said to them. When I got the the Poseidon cabin, I could hear moans coming from inside. I opened the door to find Xion and a boy I recognized as a son of Aphrodite naked on my bed. When I looked closer, I could tell this was what Athena had been talking about all those years ago. "X...Xion..." I said as I dropped the ring I was going to use to propose with. "Max!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?! GET OUT!" She yelled at me. "Ah, poor Max. You saved Olympus more times than anyone has ever done in history, but when you leave to go ask Athena for her daughters hand in marriage, he daughter ends up banging a son of Aphrodite while you were gone. I bet you didn't even realize what she had said to all of the campers here, did you?" The boy said as he continued having sex with Xion._

 _My mind was racing as I was trying to process what was being done... what was being said... WHAT WAS HAPPENING?! "Well, I might as well tell you. I made her believe that you, someone who'd never cheat on her, had actually been away for the past 3 months banging every goddess and chick you found. That you even got each and every one of them pregnant. Isn't that rad?!" He exclaimed. I couldn't handle it anymore. I ran out of the cabin and away from The School. The last thing on my mind being 'Where did I go wrong?'..._

 _End of Flashback_

Everything from that point started to become clear. I had gone on the run again, except this time, I wasn't running from monsters. I was running from a girl I knew I loved. A girl I thought had felt the same for me. I knew that to be able to escape the pain that filled my heart and mind, I would need to visit my Uncle, The Lord of Death himself.

"MAX!" I heard someone scream. I instantly shot my eyes open and could see a woman driving a silver chariot heading towards me. "NO! Don't you dare!" I screamed at her. "It's my time to die!" I continued, but within a moment, I fell right into her chariot. "Artemis! W-Why?!" I asked as tears began to fall from my cheeks. "Stop it Seaweed Brain! You know I can't let you die! There are to many people that care about you." I sat down in her chariot, putting my hands around my legs as I tried calm myself down.

"Max, why don't you just sleep for the time being. We'll go see your Mom tomorrow." Artemis said. I didn't feel like objecting, so I closed my eyes and felt myself drift off to sleep with the familiar scent of a forest filling my senses.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi, this is Dante Apollyon5680,

Now, I know that many of you may be busy, but I have a request for you. If you're able to, will you leave a review for this, or any of the other books I'm writing? I also appreciate anyone who favorites one of these books because it makes it easier for me to understand that more people want to read it. If I can have at least one person leave me a review for one of these books, saying whether or not they like it and why the may or may not like it, then I can continue writing, even if it's just for one person. Although, the more people that review or favorite a book, I will spend more time writing chapters for that book than I will one the others. I'm not saying I won't continue writing chapters for other books, but books that I feel people enjoy more will be a top priority and I will make an attempt to update at least every two days.

Again, I understand if you can't leave a review, but I would still appreciate it whether it's good or bad. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I'll try to get a chapter out for each of these by the end of the week, if not sooner.

Sincerely,

Dante Apollyon5680


	5. Chapter 5

Hello to anyone reading this.

I know that I have not updated any of my stories in a long time, but that is because work and school have become a little more hectic. For anyone who'd like to know, I've recently started a so I can create and publish stories as well as illustrate different characters from these books. If you'd like to support me on , then I'd sincerely appreciate the help.

In the future, I will hopefully be creating animations based on stories like The Beginning of the Guardian, From Nothing, Starting from Nothing, as well as many more that I have not published on this platform. However, I do not have enough time in my day to be doing all of this and therefore will need money to hire others to assist me in this endeavor.

This is the link for any interested: posts/30609497

If you're joining from this link, I would like you to send me a personal message on so I can send you a link to my Discord where we can chat about these stories.

Sincerely,

DanteApollyon5680, or AshenUnknown, (AKA: Anthony Devine)


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone reading this. If you want to get in contact with me, you can join my Discord,here , or you can look at my Blog here. If you read the last chapter I sent out, then I apologize to those who were offended by it.

Like I said before, if you'd like to get in contact with me about the future of stories like From Nothing, The Beginning of the Guardian, or any other story then go to one of those places.

-DanteApollyon5680


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